“You don’t understand.If you don’t return the heart, everyone you think you’re saving will be destroyed.”
“How?”
“I’m… not sure.I don’t know.”She shook her head, looking confused and disoriented.Or was it guilt he saw in the way her mouth tightened?Someone had put her up to this.He was sure of it.
“You need to go,” he said.“Now.”
Soleil stared at him for a long moment.“It’s over, isn’t it?Permanently over.Even if I gave up what I do and did everything your way, it would be too late.”Slowly she shook her head.“You’re in love with Meredith.And you are a one-woman man.”Her eyes opened wide with the realization, and she blinked several times as though she found it difficult to fathom that he’d moved on.
Silas had to consciously force himself to hold eye contact, although he desperately wanted to look away.He didn’t want to see the hurt in her eyes.“Yes.I’m in love with Meredith.”It was the first time he’d said it aloud.Why hadn’t he said it to Meredith?
“I’ll never understand how limited your love is, to only be capable of one lover at a time.”Soleil tilted her head as she examined him.“It’s more than that though.You don’t trust me like you once did.Not since Ryker.”
Light beaded in the corner of her eye, and it took Silas a moment to realize she was crying, literally shedding sunlight.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you.I think you have reasons for doing what you’re doing, but I can’t trust you on this.I need the heart a little while longer.”
She brushed a tear away.“I’m happy to hear you’ve moved on.It gives me closure.”
“Is that the real reason you’re here?Closure?”
“No.”She shook her head vehemently.“I’m here to save your life.You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
“Then tell me.Tell me the truth.Do you know something about what Alex is planning?”
She turned, rubbing her temples.“I can’t.I don’t know the details.All I know is I was tricked into giving you that heart, and I was tricked for a reason.”She grabbed one strap of the backpack and tried to pull it from his grip.“You must give it back.”
Silas held firm.“There is no way I’m giving this to you.Not without a better explanation.Hell, evenwitha better explanation.”A bad feeling was gathering in his chest.“Does this have to do with the lunar eclipse?”
She pulled harder on the backpack until they were engaged in a full-out tug-of-war.When it was clear Silas had her outmuscled, Soleil’s usual sunny glow morphed.“This is for your own good!”
The heat she was putting off increased from a gentle ray of sunshine to what Silas imagined the inside of an oven might feel like.His skin reddened.His hands started to blister.The smell of burning hair tinged the air.He had no choice but to close his eyes and turn his face away.He released the backpack, shaking with pain as he flipped over the back of the couch to escape her scalding heat.
“I’m sorry,” she cried.
“Not as sorry as I am.”Meredith stood in the kitchen doorway, her gun drawn.
Soleil turned toward the light of the window, her form dulling at the edges as she blended and faded into her preferred mode of travel.
Pop.Pop.Pop.The bullets plowed into Soleil’s chest, sending showers of sunlight that left cigarette-sized burns in the couch and rug before fizzling out.And then her light faded and she stared, shivering, toward the ceiling.
“Bet you weren’t expecting me to have iron bullets, bitch.”Meredith marched to Soleil’s side and yanked the scorched backpack from her hands.Then, with one look at Silas, she pulled her phone from her back pocket.“I need an ambulance… Two victims… Fae and werewolf… Yes.336 Maple Grove…”
Why was she looking at him like that?And why couldn’t Silas feel his hands?His charred, skinless hands.He leaned his head back against the carpet and closed his eyes.
ChapterTwenty
“Iwant her guarded around the clock,” Meredith shouted into the phone.“She almost killed one of our detectives.”
Silas watched her pace the room, the dull ache of his body as he came out of sleep growing more intense.And he was thirsty.Very thirsty.
“Thank you.Okay.Got it.I’ll be here until then.”Meredith slid the phone back into her pocket.“How ya feeling, Alpha?”
“Like burnt toast,” he rasped.
“Exactly how you look then.”She nabbed a plastic cup from the bedside table and brought a straw to his lips.He sucked greedily, expecting water but getting a delicious, sweet liquid instead.With raised eyebrows, he pinned the cup between two bandaged hands and drained it dry.
“Peony nectar,” she said.“It’s supposed to speed healing.They covered your burns in fire lily balm, but the doctor said it would take at least twenty-four hours for your skin to grow back.And it’s not going to feel good when it does.”
